Story perspectives

‘Wild Inside’ Debuts; Flaco’s Death Sparks NYC Contraceptive Owl Law

7/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

Director Penny Lane premiered “Wild Inside” in Central Park on July 29 2026 and at the IFC Center on July 31 2026.
Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, escaped the Central Park Zoo on February 2 2023 after a vandal cut his netting and survived a year hunting rats.
His death on February 23 2024 after hitting a West 89th Street building led to a necropsy finding rat poison and pigeon herpesvirus, prompting city council to approve “Flaco’s law” to replace poison with contraceptives.

History

Historical Context

In 1995, the New York City Council, urged by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, banned anticoagulant rodenticide, cutting sales 45 % and saving $3 million annually. The ban followed earlier warfarin use since 1950 and EPA limits on second-generation poisons like brodifacoum in 2008. Flaco Law now swaps lethal bait for contraceptive bait, continuing that safety shift.

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Story summary

Director Penny Lane premiered “Wild Inside” in Central Park on July 29 2026 and at the IFC Center on July 31 2026.
Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, escaped the Central Park Zoo on February 2 2023 after a vandal cut his netting and survived a year hunting rats.
His death on February 23 2024 after hitting a West 89th Street building led to a necropsy finding rat poison and pigeon herpesvirus, prompting city council to approve “Flaco’s law” to replace poison with contraceptives.

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